Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Today's post will be a little out of the normal. Mainly because this national novel writing month, I returned to my roots as a writer and did something I haven't indulged in for a long time: I pantsered this book.

I am usually a fan of my plotting and my careful details. However, this time I said screw it, threw away my plot (which I had spent an entire month working on) and decided that I would dive in with nothing but my poet-possessed laptop and my brain.

Really, it was a great idea.

This novel does not use a unique concept. It uses a plot mechanism used before, but done in a way unique to me. This is also outside of my usual method of operation. While I won't quite say it has a cliche plot, I focused more on telling a good story than trying to tell a unique story. There is a little irony in that I think I managed to come away with one of my better stories just by focusing on having fun.

This got me thinking a little. When I stepped back and viewed my book on the level of telling a good story, there are often similar plot mechanisms I like in a story. 'Snicker's' bars versus fillet mignon, but.... I think this month I went for a book that would be a fun read.

And somehow, I think I have succeeded.

By throwing off the usual controlled style of writing, I think I touched back on why I love to write. I think this let me relax and do what I love the most. This reflects in the quality of my writing, as well. This book will need edits, but I am not so certain that it will need a rewrite. I know scenes that I want to tune, but so far there are none I want to scrape.

It is a pleasant, uplifting feeling. While I am usually able to write a good quantity of words when I apply myself, I do not usually feel so eager to get up in the morning and get to work on a book.

Thank you, November. Thanks for letting me get back in touch with my roots and remember what it is like to write a book off the seat of my pants!

This is the book that I will send to a publisher and agents. It will need work, it will need polish, but this is the one that I will take all of the way.

Monday, November 15, 2010

I'm sorry that I have been quiet. There are many reasons for this, and some of them I can delve into on a writing related blog. Shocking, isn't it?

It is November! It is just about halfway through November! Both of these things are excellent. I'm excited. I love National Novel Writing Month, and I have really enjoyed participating as a Municipal Liaison this year. I have met a lot of fun and interesting people. I get out of my condo at least once a week and I get to write as I do it. This is very pleasing.

Instead of my usual post, I am going to copy-paste my guest blog posts from another blog. Some of you have already read them, but I figured there was no better way to catch my mood of the past week than to revitalize the posts I have already done. They are almost all on writing subjects, and they may be useful to you.